LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Sept. 26, 2012) — With nearly all of the permits secured for the new natural gas combined-cycle generating station, Louisville Gas and Electric Company has withdrawn the Cane Run landfill permit application from the Division of Waste Management.
“We are pleased to be moving forward with our natural gas combined-cycle generating unit,” said Paul W. Thompson, senior vice president, Energy Services. “We have done extensive analysis, and by maximizing our existing landfill and ash pond capacities, it’s safe to say that LG&E will no longer need to build the additional landfill originally planned at Cane Run.”
After studying the available space in the existing landfill, the company determined that on-site options will meet the storage needs until the NGCC is placed into operation. The withdrawal of the landfill permit application amounts to a savings of about $54 million, which was the estimated total capital cost of the proposed four-phase landfill expansion.
A mechanically stabilized earth wall — similar to those seen along expressways — will be installed to better utilize the remaining space within the existing landfill. No permit modification is necessary for this type of wall since it does not change the footprint of the existing landfill.
LG&E filed the landfill application in January 2010. It was designed to comply with the most stringent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards. Plans included a protective liner with a leachate collection system, and it was expected to have been built in four phases, based on storage need.
Approvals or permits had already been obtained from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Kentucky Division of Water and the Kentucky Heritage Council. This latest development marks another milestone in the process of replacing part of the lost generation from Cane Run, Green River and Tyrone with natural gas.
Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company 1.2 million customers. LG&E serves 321,000 natural gas and 397,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties. Kentucky Utilities serves 546,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia.
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